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But inside, as chef Anthony Rose leans over a big pot of grits, stirring for the better part of an hour, it’s warm and there’s time to chat.

We’re at his restaurant, Rose and Sons, in the prep kitchen, which once upon a time must have been a very generous closet. Now it is home to a worktable, a convection oven, many cans and a big man with a wooden spoon, the titular Rose’s shirt unbuttoned enough to display a golden chai necklace (the Jewish word for “life”).

If you’ve never had good grits, imagine corn-flavoured oatmeal, but with the social acceptability of being frequently covered in cheese, shrimp or barbecued meats.

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Grits, as a finished dish, has not been a common element of the Canadian diet. But it should be. The raw ingredient, dried and coarsely ground corn, is only a variation of cornmeal, or polenta, so much so that on many menus the terms are interchangeable.

Anthony Rose with a 10-pound bag of corn grits from k2 Milling in Beeton, Ont. The quality and character of the raw material varies. (Colin McConnell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Corey Mintz watches Anthony Rose making grits. Because it’s not a staple in Ontario, it’s hard to get fresh grits. Rose gets his main raw material, corn grits, from k2 Milling in Beeton, Ont. (Colin McConnell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

What’s often sold as polenta is a precooked powder, able to be prepared instantly when combined with boiling liquid. Grits make you work for it. The large, rough grind, simmered slowly, gives the dish its appealing texture.

Because it’s not a staple in Ontario, it’s hard to get fresh grits.

If he could, Rose would get them from Anson Mills, in North Carolina. “Gorgeous stuff. You’re supposed to keep it in the freezer. It’s that fresh,” he says, reminiscing on a New York cooking job where he could acquire the prized ingredient. “It’s sweet. And they grind it to order.”

Still, he’s happy with what he’s getting from k2 Milling, in Beeton, Ont. The blended grind contains as much powder as it does sizeable fragments of kernels, providing a bit of chew in the final product. For a commonly available choice, he recommends Bob’s Red Mill, which you can find at many specialty food shops around the city.

The only ingredients in the pot right now are four cups of milk and two cups of grits. The 2:1 ratio is unusually low.

“Two to one isn’t a lot. A lot of recipes will start three to one or even four to one,” he explains. “But I like the toothsomeness of it. And I like to be able to play with it at the end. If you start with four to one, you lose that. There’s only so much you can do because it’s still very loose.”

Later, testing at home, I find that the Bob’s grits, which are ground a bit finer, absorb the milk faster. So I bump it up to three to one.

As Rose’s liquid heats up, he works it vigorously with a whisk. “Once it’s up to a simmer, turn it right down.” He reduces the flame on the portable gas element down to an infinitesimal flicker. “Cover it and leave it alone.”

Occasionally he returns to stir it with a wooden spoon.

“You want to be very careful when you’re reheating it the next day,” warns Rose. This is important for me, as I try to do most of my dinner prep the day before. “Throw it in the oven first with nothing in it. And then add some liquid in the end as you need to. But never start with liquid right away. Because you’ll f--- it up.”

He ladles a bowl for me, topping it with a pool of maple syrup and sprinkle of scallions. At dinner, it’s a main, covered with barbecued pork.

It’s something that I will eat with anything or nothing: a fried or poached egg in the morning; steamed broccoli at noon; random leftover meats at midnight.

Testing it during a dinner party, I top each serving with maple syrup, a handful of sidestripe shrimp, pickled green chilies and cilantro. All five guests ask, “What are grits?” Northerners really don’t know.

Round these parts, when people talk about comfort food, they so often mention shepherd’s pie, which I have never cottoned to. To me, the phrase conjures a steaming bowl of grits and I imagine how cozy and sleepy I’ll feel after eating too much, curled on the sofa, blanket on my feet, falling into a grit-nap.

“When someone asks you what grits are,” Rose says more succinctly, “you just say it’s like polenta, but better.”

Rose and Sons’ Grits

1 cup (250 mL) grits

3 cups (750 mL) homogenized milk

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) cheddar cheese, grated

3/4 cup (185 mL) heavy cream (or sour cream)

Salt and pepper to taste

4 scallions, chopped finely

4 tsp (20 mL) maple syrup

In a heavy-bottomed pot on medium-high heat, bring grits and milk to simmer, whisking regularly. As soon as it bubbles, reduce heat as low as possible, cover and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring but not scraping, every 10 minutes with a spoon or spatula.

Fold in cheese and cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide into six bowls and finish with scallions and maple syrup.

If making in advance, reheat in oven at 300F/150C. Once it’s warm, add a little milk to loosen as needed.

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